Sometimes I wonder which came first, the chicken or the egg. Recently I had an experience where a woman, Sue, visited our home and saw our vision board hanging in our bedroom. Sue was the wife of a contractor who was doing some repair work at our home and stopped by to visit with her husband.
Sue works as a cleaning lady and in her mind, had already categorized us as “rich people”. I know what that’s like, for I spent my childhood and the early part of my adult life thinking that I too was separate from the abundance around me.
As she paused by our vision board, I asked her if she was familiar with how creating a vision works in life. Sue immediately told me that many of the people she works for have one of these boards, but it would never work in her life- because she’s not rich. She saw a vision board as a luxury for people who already had nice things in their life- not as a path to achieve it for herself.
As much as I gently tried to help her see the possibility in her own life, she wasn’t open to the concept. For her, if the wealth wasn’t already here, why dream? For me, whatever abundance we have in our lives came BECAUSE we first saw the vision.
So, which comes first…. the chicken or the egg, or in this case, the abundance or the vision?
Sue thinks that you first have to have abundance, while I’m a strong believer that if you have the vision, anything is possible.
From personal experience, I know that when we’re coming from a place of fear or insecurity it’s difficult to dream and even more difficult to believe that anything better is coming our way. I’ve found that the only way to bring what I want into my life, is to first believe that it’s possible. Without the vision and the belief, nothing happens.
So, do only successful people have vision boards, or, are people successful BECAUSE they have one? Which comes first, the abundance or the vision?
Instead of waiting for the abundance to show up in life, I invite you to be grateful for what you already have, then create your own vision board and dream. Dream BIG! Open to the greater possibilities around you and I think you’ll find that when you have the vision, everything else is not only possible, but probable.
Hey Gail,
i had a similar experience when living in an inner city neighborhood in Minneapolis. I grew up in a middle class family in rural Colorado, and while we often struggled to make ends meet, we always had presentable clothes and healthy food on the table, and were taught middle class values around gaining an education etc. . The rare visit to the Dairy Queen for a single twist cone was a huge treat. most of my friends had more money than we did.
But, living in the inner city in my first house, I realized that even though we were far from wealthy, the expectations and environment I was raised in made a difference. At some level, I’d been allowed to dream, to at least imagine a life as big as I wanted it. The folks in my inner cit neighborhood–many who had grown up in extreme poverty and violence in the Projects in Chicago–hadn’t had that. I remember one day a neighbor came over to help while I was digging a new flower bed. (one thing the folks in my neighborhood had that i didn’t, at least not in the same way–was community. they honestly couldn’t understand how I could live by myself, do everything alone–so when they saw me outside working alone, often came over to help.)
Digging a flower bed is work, especially when double-digging in heavy clay soil. i was grateful for the help, and enjoyed the company. the neighbor–I’ll call him John–told some stories about his childhood–seeing a family member shot in front of him, his own early involvment with gangs that left him with a steel plate in his head and jaw….. the stories were amazing, and so different from mine of life in a tiny village in rural colorado. It was also clear that despite the popular claims that people make their own choices with their lives, our choices are often limited and defined by what we see and are taught, overtly and implicitly, in our youth.
At one point, making conversation, I asked him what his dreams were, and what they had been as a child.
John was on his knees next to me, breaking up a clod of dirt, when I asked. He rocked back on his heels, startled, and looked at me. He stopped working, and said in a tone of complete amazement, “why….I don’t know!! no one ever asked me. I didn’t know it was something you could even think about.” We chatted a bit more, and when the bed was done and the flowers planted, enjoyed a glass of lemonade and each went home to clean up.
Not long after that, he and his family moved on, but that moment really stuck with me. It was a brilliant illumination of how the setting we’re raised in –and so often tied with class background– creates an environment in which we may not even know what’s possible. For John, it was the asking of what his dreams were, in a passing conversation that I might ask of anyone, that shifted something–for both of us. He glimpsed that dreams might be ok. I glimpsed how fiercely the racism/classism ( or however you want to call it) can close doors before people even know they exist, or make it impossible to walk through even if you know they’re there. I also saw the close connection and community that he came from and lived with so easily–something i see many of us middle class folks struggling to find.
Liza, this is beautiful and I’m so grateful to you for sharing it. For some reason, this just arrived in my inbox today, although I see that you wrote it 2 weeks ago!
Thank you for your patience and for sharing such a meaningful story. You have inspired me today.
Hugs,
Gail
Hi there Gail….I was reading the headline from this entry on Google Reader, and found this to be VERY relevant to myself and a few others I know. I am having some trouble understanding the whole “Abundance” theory though….help me understand this better so that I can apply the necessary attitudes and perceptions to help make my life more “Abundant” thanks for following me on twitter…it’s a pleasure to read your tweets and blogs.
Here is me….sending YOU an “Abundance” of Love and respect……
Adam C. Lewis
Adam, thank you for your comments. I will write more to specifically address your question about Abundance, as it’s something that may help a lot of folks. Stay tuned… I’m off to write. 🙂 Thanks again,
Hugs,
Gail